You probably already know that the answer to that question is a big fat yes. Watching TV burns few calories, and food commercials tend to trigger cravings for high-calorie snack foods. Research also shows that screen time might harm our psychological health, especially in children, again fueling cravings. One study even found that television breakups can stress viewers, causing them to reach for comfort foods as if their own relationships had soured. And, I don’t know about you, but TV is often why I sometimes stay up way past bedtime, even though I know lack of sleep boosts hunger and cravings while it slows metabolism.

For all of those reasons and more, it’s no surprise that a recent Northwestern University study found that one of the most effective ways to lose weight and get healthier was this: spend less time in front of the TV or computer screen. (The other most effective strategy: eating more fruits and vegetables).

Now that most of the season finales have ended and most shows have gone the way of summer re-runs, now is a great time to break your television habit. Here are 11 ways to replace it with something more active that keeps you out of the house and away from the fridge:

It used to be that any recipe that called for kale was a recipe I didn’t try to make. I assumed kale was a chewy, yucky, gross green that I was never, ever going to like.

It’s loaded with vitamins A and C and a good amount of iron and calcium, too, not to mention various healing antioxidants. I didn’t care. I didn’t like it.

Or so I thought.

The past year has elevated kale from an unglamorous leafy green to famed status. It’s now found in nearly everything, including several foods and beverages you might actually like. There’s even a blog completely devoted to kale called 365 Days of Kale.

For instance, there’s this concoction known as the kale chip. Think potato chip, but with kale instead of potato.

And think baked instead of fried.

And think good for you instead of bad for you.

And even more addictive.

If you can manage to think all of that, then you understand the kale chip. They are sold commercially at many health food stores for a steep price, but you can also make them at home by dabbing kale with olive oil and sea salt and baking it at 350 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes.

Memorial Day is a time to honor the memory of our fallen soldiers, but it also is a time to acknowledge the sacrifices of those who've served and bear the psychic scars for it. The U.S. Defense Department is providing a free and easy way to start the healing process.

When Terry and Judy Iasiello’s daughter, Nikki, was born in Nashville, Tenn., in 1962, she was given a one-in-a-million chance of survival. She had life-threatening birth defects, including Dandy-Walker Syndrome, a congenital brain malformation involving the area in the back of the brain that controls movement.

Twelve-year-old Taylor de Castro has always been an active child, who loves playing sports and prefers running around outdoors and getting sweaty to being couped up in the house.

The sixth grader at Southern Lehigh Intermediate School especially loves playing soccer. But about four years ago, she began experiencing some unexplained stiffening in her knee after her games. It had the then 8-year-old and her family puzzled.

“I thought it was growing pains,” says her mom, Mary de Castro of Upper Saucon Township. Energetic Taylor continuted playing despite the discomfort.

During the next two years, however, her “growing pains” seemed to intensify – enough to keep her from sleeping well at night.

At bedtime, when Taylor complained that her legs hurt, Mary gave her motrin to ease the pain. But she began suspecting it was more than growing pains when Taylor woke up in the morning still complaining. When the stiffening was accompanied by swelling -- her knee blew up to nearly twice its size – it was time to see a doctor.

Suspecting Lyme disease, her doctor gave her a long course of antibiotics, which initially seemed to help. But her relief was short-lived. Knee swelling returned and soon she was so stiff that she needed to use crutches to get to school. At night, she surrounded herself with pillows in her bed in an attempt to keep her legs from moving. When she did move, she’d scream out in pain. Her mother slept with her to keep a heating pad on her legs and keep them as still as possible.

Taylor went through more testing, but the results of both x-rays and an MRI were normal. So Mary took her to a pediatric orthopedic specialist. He drained the fluid from her swollen knee and tested it, once again for Lyme disease, but the results were negative. He ruled it out along with a sports injury.

Finally, Mary took Taylor to a pediatric rheumatologist, who was able to make the diagnosis – oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a form of juvenile arthritis that most commonly affects knees, ankles, fingers, toes, wrists, elbows and hips. Symptoms are usually limited to swelling and pain, but it also can lead to uneven bone growth.

Since her diagnosis in 2010, Taylor’s arthritis has remained stable. Taylor was lucky to have a form that’s considered relatively mild because it affects fewer than four joints. It primarily affected her knees and thumb and his been managed with steroid injections and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. She received physical therapy to help resolve some residual stiffness in her legs. And, she starting seeing an opthamologist regularly because children with oligoarticular JIA are also prone to eye inflammations that can lead to blindness

The one thing Taylor has learned is that, despite the pain and stiffness, it’s important to keep moving. She’s once again is active in sports. She still loves playing soccer, but feels some discomfort in her knees afterward, so Mary is encouraging her to swim and play sports that have less impact on her joints, like golf, lacrosse and field hockey.

“In the big scheme, there are a lot worse things,” says Mary, who worries most about Taylor’s future. While it’s a good sign that arthritis hasn’t showed up in another joint in two years, there’s no telling how long she’ll be that lucky.

After Taylor’s diagnosis, the de Castros learned about the Lehigh Valley Arthritis Walk, an annual event that helps the Arthritis Foundation raise funds for research, education and programs in the community. It also strives to raise awareness and celebrate movement. The Arthritis Foundation’s rally cry is “Let’s move together.”

Taylor is an honoree at this year’s walk, which begins at 1 p.m. June 3 at Sand Island in Bethlehem. (Registration starts at 11 a.m.) And, she is leading her own fundraising team – Team Taylor. She hopes to raise $5,000 and needs your help.

There’s no registration fee. But donations are needed to fund research and programs that will keep children like Taylor moving. If you can’t join the walk, you can make a donation at www.lvwalk.kintera.org/taylor.

Perhaps the plethora of billboards from area health providers, boasting their achievements along Lehigh Valley's main traffic arteries, serves as a subconscious hint for visiting truck drivers. But it is not the first time that a passing truck driver ends up at the emergency room of Lehigh Valley Hospital--Cedar Crest and learns about a life-changing diagnosis.

TIM DARRAGH has been reporting and editing the news for 30 years, most of it at The Morning Call. For much of that time, he's been doing award-winning investigative and in-depth reporting projects. Tim created the three-year-long Change of Heart project, and wrote a series on the state's fractured food inspection system that led to widespread improvements in food safety. Meantime, that novice jogger you see plodding along the streets around Bethlehem Township? That would be Tim.